Former Mississippi State wide receiver Chad Bumphis had some advice for recruits heading into national signing day. / Spruce Derden, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

Former Mississippi State wide receiver Chad Bumphis, who just completed his senior season with the Bulldogs, was once a four-star prospect with scholarship offers from most of the blue-blood programs in the SEC: Alabama, Florida, LSU, Auburn and Tennessee, not to mention the Bulldogs, Oklahoma and Texas Tech.

Having once been a highly touted recruit himself, Bumphis could give high school seniors a meaningful perspective on the recruiting process - and now would be a good time to drop some knowledge, what with national signing day less than 24 hours away.

"With NSD near, recruits listen. DON'T go with the money! After its gone ur stuck at a place you probably don't even like for 3-5 years!"

It's at this time that I stress the words "former Mississippi State wide receiver," though I'm sure Bumphis is still within enough distance of Starkville to catch an earful from coach Dan Mullen (among other university leaders).

Bumphis wasn't talking about his recruitment to Mississippi State, however. Asked on Twitter if he was "speaking from experience," Bumphis said, "no. Believe it or not I turned it down to go" to Mississippi State.

A follower then wrote to Bumphis, "and those girls that recruited you won't be there either, they did their job." Bumphis replied, "lol. Right."

"Funny. I tweet that and the only people offended are my sweet little rebel followers!! Guilty much??? Possibly. Lol"

Mississippi has been one of the surprise teams during this recruiting cycle, following up a 7-6 finish in coach Hugh Freeze's first season with one of the nation's top classes. As of midday Tuesday, Rivals.com ranked Mississippi's class as the 11th-best in the country.

On Wednesday, Freeze and his staff are in play for another pair of five-star prospects, including the nation's No. 1 recruit, defensive end Robert Nkemdiche.

The team's recruiting success has raised eyebrows, which in turn led Freeze to write on his Twitter account, "If you have facts about a violation, email compliance@olemiss.edu. If not, please don't slander the young men." (The tweet has since been deleted.)

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